Obama Press Conference March 24

President Obama held another prime time press conference on March 24. His opening remarks were limited to issues of the economy, particularly as they were reflected in his budget proposal.

It's extremely difficult to make such a tedious subject interesting for a typical citizen, and Obama proved he was not up to this challenge. However, he did demonstrate a remarkable command of the facts, as they exist, the details of his own proposal, and the ways in which those proposals fit into the immediate economic crisis and the long term economic security of the United States.

On balance, the reporters were no match for the president. These were journalists assigned to cover the White House. They are far more accustomed to following political maneuverings than economic theories. It would have made much more sense for the news outlets to send their economic reporters, who would have had a sense of what the president's proposals really mean.

The result was that there were two conversations occurring in the East Room. The president spoke of essential issues of the economy; the reporters asked about the political fallout.